Stephen Rollnick's family were Russian/Polish immigrants to South Africa, and he grew up in Cape Town. After removing himself from Apartheid South Africa, he settles in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He trained as a clinical psychologist, and became interested in what makes for a helpful conversation about change. By coincidence he found himself on a fellowship to Sydney, Australia in the office next door William R. Miller, himself on sabbatical from New Mexico, US. They collaborated on the 1st edition of the now best selling text on Motivational Interviewing, and spent the following decades exploring it's use in diverse settings across the world. The journey took Stephen through a clinical and academic career, training efforts worldwide, work on HIV?AIDS in African countries, and more recently in education and sport. Making every conversation count, in building empathy and strong relationships remained the thread that bound his academic, clinical and training efforts. His writing and books were all designed to make a practical difference on the frontline of care and other settings.